Trafalgar PD Day 4 – Resilience

On Tuesday 27th March, all year groups took part in our 4th PD day of the year – this time with the theme of ‘Resilience’. Over the course of the day, students considered questions such as ‘What skills are needed to be an effective team player?’ ‘What sort of job might I like when I’m older?’ and ‘What can I do to de-stress myself?’

Year 7 were lucky to be joined by the ‘Unloc’ team from Portsmouth University who introduced them to team work skills. Students worked in groups to create tower structures that could rival Portsmouth’s own Spinnaker Tower, with the winning groups going forward to the ‘Pitch Room’ to explain exactly what made their towers so special.

Year 8 went on a group outing to ‘Kidzania’ in London – a huge indoor city where they tried a multitude of jobs found in real life cities. Some students went to the journalism desk in association with The Metro to write articles; others did some choreography in the nightclub. When that all got too much, students cooled down with a homemade smoothie in the café.

In year 9, Mr Morris led pupils through a series of Duke of Edinburgh style activities including tent building on the field and how to cook a decent meal when camping in the great outdoors. Mr Au even bought in his reptiles to teach students how to care for some lesser known pets!

In year 10 the theme was ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind’. Students spent the morning considering the necessary ingredients for a healthy mind including a sensible diet and the art of de-stressing. In the afternoon, students chose from a variety of sporting activities; a football tournament held at Roko proved to be extremely popular!

With exams on the horizon for Year 11, they were focusing on revision skills. Students spent the morning next door at The UTC, hearing some motivational words and receiving personal postcards and messages from their tutors. They then spent the day exploring different revision techniques and skills, whilst also considering the importance of organisation and time to relax. Their day culminated with some positive thoughts to send them home with.

All in all, the day was a great success, with all students gaining some important life skills that they can apply in the future.